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AR01 498509  l88Ued  APril  18> 1907- 

United  States  Department  of  Agriculture, 

OFFICE  OF  PUBLIC  ROADS— Circular  No.  74. 

LOGAN  WALLER  PAGE,  Director. 


PUBLIC  ROADS  OF  NEW  YORK:  MILEAGE  AM)  EXPENDITURES 

IN  1904." 

MILEAGE  OF  ROADS. 

The  accompanying  table  shows  that  in  1904  there  were  73,798  miles 
of  public  road  in  the  State  of  New  York.  Of  this  mileage,  707  miles 
were  surfaced  with  stone  under  the  State-aid  plan,  1,477  miles  were 
surfaced  with  stone  by  the  towns,  and  3,692  miles  were  surfaced  with 
gravel  by  the  towns,  making  in  all  5,876  miles  of  improved  road.  It 
will  be  seen  from  these  figures  that  7.9  per  cent  of  the  roads  has 
been  improved.  By  comparing  the  total  road  mileage  with  the  area 
of  the  State,  it  appears  that  there  were  1.54  miles  of  public  road  per 
square  mile  of  area.  A  comparison  of  mileage  with  population  shows 
that  there  was  1  mile  of  road  to  every  98  inhabitants  and  1  mile  of 
improved  road  to  every  1,237  inhabitants. 

SOURCES  OF  REVENUE. 
STATE  AID. 

In  the  permanent  improvement  of  State-aid  roads,  under  the  Higbie- 
Armstrong  law,  the  State  pays  50  per  cent  of  the  cost,  the  county  35 
per  cent,  and  the  town  or  property  owners  benefited,  15  per  cent. 
The  State's  share  in  the  improvement  of  State-aid  roads  is  appro- 
priated by  the  legislature  from  the  general  treasury,  and  it  has  increased 
from  $50,000  in  1898,  when  the  first  State-aid  law  was  passed,  to 
over  $1,000,000  in  1904.  The  share  of  the  counties  and  towns  in  the 
improvement  of  State-aid  roads  is  paid  out  of  special  taxes  levied  for 
the  purpose,  which  must  be  paid  in  money. 

The  State  also  contributes  aid  under  the  Fuller-Plank  act,  which 
established  what  is  known  as  the  "money  system"  as  distinguished 
from  the  old  labor  system.  In  towns  which  adopt  the  money  system 
the  State  contributes  50  cents  for  every  dollar  raised  by  the  town  for 
the  repair  of  highways  provided  these  funds  are  expended  according 
to  the  direction  of  the  State  engineer;  but  a  proviso  in  this  law  limits 
the  aid  given  by  the  State,  in  towns  the  assessed  property  valuation 
of  which  is  $1,000,000  or  more,  to  one-tenth  of  1  per  cent  of  the 
assessed  valuation. 

THE  MONEY  SYSTEM. 

The  towns  which  have  adopted  the  money  system  raise  an  annual 
property  tax  for  road  purposes  which  must  be  equal  to  at  least  one- 
lialr  the  value  at  the  commutation  rates  of  the  highway  labor  which 
would  be  assessed  if  the  labor  system  were  in  force.  This  tax  is  not 
assessed  against  property  in  incorporated  villages.  In  addition  to 
the  property  tax  every  able-bodied  male  citizen  between  the  ages  of  21 
and  70  years,  unless  by  law  exempt,  is  required  to  pay  an  annual  poll 
tax  of  SI  for  road  purposes. 

"  This  leaflet  is  one  of  a  series  issued  by  the  Office  of  Public  Roads,  in  which  road 
statistics  are  given  by  States.  The  Department  is  indebted  to  the  State  engineer  and 
surveyor  of  New  York  for  all  the  information  given  in  the  table.  It  is  believed,  there- 
fore, that  the  figures  can  be  accepted  as  correct  and  that  they  will  form  a  valuable  basis 
for  comparison  and  for  future  work  of  this  kind. — Logan  Waller  Page,  Director. 

'  28567— No.  74—07 


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[Cir.  74] 


4 


THK   I.ABOU  .SYSTEM. 

In  towns  which  are  still  working  the  roads  under  the  labor  system 
the  commissioners  of  highways  of  the  towns  assess  the  highway  labor 
to  be  performed  each  year.  The  total  number  of  days  assessed 
annually  must  not  be  less  than  three  times  the  number  of  taxable 
inhabitants  in  the  town.  Every  able-bodied  male  inhabitant  between 
the  ages  of  21  and  70  years,  unless  by  law  exempt,  is  required  to  per- 
forin at  least  one  day's  labor  upon  the  public  roads  each  year,  the 
remaining  number  of  days  assessed  by  the  highway  commissioners 
being  apportioned  against  the  property  in  the  town  in  proportion  to 
valuation.  This  tax  does  not  apply  to  incorporated  cities  or  villages, 
which  are  by  law  separate  road  districts. 

BRIDGES. 

\ 

The  expense  of  constructing  and  repairing  highway  bridges  is 
borne  by  the  towns  except  in  certain  cases  provided  by  law  where  the 
county  contributes  a  portion  of  the  cost. 

EXPENDITURES. 

The  value  of  the  labor  tax  expended  in  the  labor-system  towns 
amounted  to  $1,754,785.83  in  1905,  which  was  practically  the  same 
as  in  1904.  (See  table,  footnote  b.)  It  will  be  seen  from  the  table 
that  the  value  of  this  tax  has  been  computed  on  a  basis  of  $1.50  per 
day,  which  is  the  prevailing  rate  of  wages  in  New  York  State  for 
road  work.  The  total  expenditure  by  towns  and  counties  for  the 
construction  and  maintenance  of  highway  bridges  in  1904  was 
$1 ,289,589.99.  The  total  expenditures  by  the  State  under  the  Higbie- 
Armstrong  law  for  the  construction  of  State-aid  roads  was  $673,824 
and  for  road  maintenance  under  the  money-system  law  was  $382,636. 
The  expenditures  by  the  towns  and  counties  under  the  Higbie-Arm- 
strong  law  for  the  construction  of  State-aid  roads  amounted  to 
$673,824.  The  cash  tax  expended  in  the  money-system  towns  was 
$917,855.  Adding  these  various  expenditures  together,  we  have  a 
grand  total  expenditure  by  towns,  counties,  and  State  for  roads  and 
bridges  of  $5,692,514.82.  By  comparing  the  total  amount  expended 
with  the  total  mileage  of  public  roads  and  with  the  population  of  the 
State,  it  is  found  that  the  funds  .collected  and  expended  for  road  and 
bridge  purposes  amounted  to  $77.13  per  mile  of  public  road  or  $0.78 
per  inhabitant. 

Maurice  O.  Eldridge, 

Chief  of  Record*. 

Approved : 

James  Wilson, 

Secrstarj  of  Agriculture. 

Washington,  D.  C,  February  18,  1907. 

[Cir.  74] 

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